The Black Keys have officially leveled up from South by Southwest performing artists to featured speakers. SXSW announced today that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney will deliver a keynote address at the spring festival, which runs from March 8-16.
Beyond the rock duo – whose documentary This Is a Film About the Black Keys world premieres at the festival – new additions to conference programming include screen legend Jane Fonda, who leads a session on Hollywood activism; retired NBA star Dwyane Wade, who will discuss his entrepreneurial ventures; Austin actor Elijah Wood, who will tape a live episode of his Visitations podcast alongside co-host Daniel Noah; futurist Ray Kurzweil (The Singularity Is Near); and tech journalist Laurie Segall, CEO of Mostly Human Media.
TV lovers should note a Reservation Dogs session, where the team behind the FX drama – including co-creator Sterlin Harjo, director Danis Goulet, and actors Devery Jacobs and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – will examine the portrayal of indigenous stories alongside Kerry Swanson, CEO of the Indigenous Screen Office.
Other freshly announced sessions include a music sync lecture led by Eduardo Cabra and a session on homelessness featuring U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
Keep scrolling for SXSW’s complete rundown of Featured Sessions announced today:
• 2050: Reimagining Future Cities Without Homelessness: Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Jeff Olivet, President and CEO of Los Angeles Mission Troy Vaughn, and U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters ponder how we can eradicate homelessness in future city planning.
• A^2: Connecting the Dots: Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, known for battling Chevron in the landmark case Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc., and Chris Smalls, founder of The Congress of Essential Workers, lead a discussion on labor rights and challenging the world’s most powerful corporations.
• Culturally Confronting Loneliness: Who can speak to modern society’s culture of loneliness better than Justin McLeod, founder and CEO of the dating app Hinge? He’s joined by Ann Shoket, former editor of Seventeen magazine who writes about fostering community and instilling confidence in young women.
• Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web: In the age of “For You” pages and omnipresent algorithms, no one really needs to curate their own social media accounts anymore. Enter Jack Conte, whose business Patreon has become something of a last-gasp for creators hoping to build a dedicated audience – or make some extra money with the platform’s subscription model.
• Engaging the Next Gen: My Hero Academia’s Journey to Roblox: In this session, Gamefan CEO Joe Ferencz and Crunchyroll’s Terry Li recount how the manga My Hero Academia traversed the metaverse into Roblox.
• FX’s Reservation Dogs: Indigenous Storytelling Without Bounds: Before there was Killers of the Flower Moon, there was Reservation Dogs. Co-creator/EP/writer/director Sterlin Harjo, director Danis Goulet, actor/writer/director Devery Jacobs, actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and CEO of the Indigenous Screen Office Kerry Swanson discuss the beloved drama and the breakthrough of indigenous culture in popular media.
• Hollywood and Activism: Insights from Jane Fonda, David Fenton, and Sweta Chakraborty: Jane Fonda has long been one of the only celebrities to put her money where her mouth is when it comes to activism, so it should be a treat to see the actor join climate scientist Dr. Sweta Chakraborty and public relations expert David Fenton for a panel on enacting meaningful political change.
• Icons of Impact: A Conversation with Dwyane Wade: The basketball star shares his secrets to success off the court, from beer and wine ventures to documentary production.
• Live Podcast Episode of Visitations with Elijah Wood & Daniel Noah: At their core, Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah are film lovers. That’s the basis of their podcast Visitations, where the duo visit the homes and workshops of their idols to better understand their processes. At this live taping, the SpectreVision founders will interview a fellow, as-yet-unannounced SXSW ‘24 lineup member.
• People First, Always: How to Put Values at the Heart of Your Business: Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian hosts a discussion on how to lead a business that isn’t soul-crushing, if such a thing exists.
• The Transformation of Music Sync: When the Songwriter Becomes the Screenwriter: A roundtable discussion on the impact of a well-placed needle drop featuring Calle 13’s Eduardo Cabra, Creative Artists Agency’s Stephanie Langs, music journalist Lyndsey Parker, Warner Chappell Music’s Rich Robinson, and artist Justin Tranter.
Catch up with the latest festival news at the Chronicle’s SXSW hub.
This article appears in January 12 • 2024.
